rnia 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE    SOOTHSAYER 

BY  VERNER  VON  HEIDENSTAM 


^ 


THE    SOOTHSAYER 


BY 
VERNER  VON^HEIDENSTAM 


AUTHORIZED  TRANSLATION  FROM  THE  SWEDISH  BY 

KAROLINE  M.  KNUDSEN 


BOSTON 

THE  FOUR  SEAS  COMPANY 
1919 


Copyright,  1919,  by 

THE  FOUR  SEAS  COMPANY 

All  Rights  Reserved 


For  the  right  to  perform  this  play  in  English,  address 
the  publishers,   who  are  the  author's  representatives. 


The  Pour  Seas  Press 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 


THE  SOOTHSAYER 


PERSONS  REPRESENTED 

APOLLO 
As  God  of  Prophecy  and  as  God  of  Punishment 

THE  ERINYES 
The  Fates:  many  in  number 

EYRYTUS,  The  Soothsayer 

ERIGONE,  his  wife 

THEANO,  his  mother 

FILEAS,  their  servant 

GREY-BEARD,  a  herdsman 

PALE-FACE,  another  herdsman 

OTHER  HERDSMEN 

SCENE 
Arcadia,    near   the    north-east   border 

TIME 

Some  years  before  the  Persian  Invasion 
The  Battle  of   Salamis,    [B.   C  480] 


THE    SOOTHSAYER 


AN  ARCADIAN  PLAIN 

[A  laurel-grove. 

Between  the  slen- 
der branches,  there 
appears  a  hilly  green- 
sward. 

At  the  left:  a  tent. 

At  the  right:  a  low 
altar,  built  up  of 
stones,  placed  one 
upon  another. 

Smoke  rises  In  a 
column  from  the  sac- 
rificial offering  half- 
burnt.  ] 

*        *        * 

[Eurytus  and  En- 
gone,  with  a  basket  of 
flowers,  are  kneeling 
In  front  of  the  altar. 

[7] 


Between  these  twd 
stands  Theano,  her 
hands  upon  their 
heads. 

Behind  her  kneels 
Fileas.  ] 

*."*•* 

THEANO 
Eros !    Eros ! 

EURYTUS,  ERIGONE,  AND  FILEAS 
Eros! 

THEANO 

Old  am  I  ...  tottering  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave ;  but  yet  have  I  lips  with  which  to  call  thy 
name,  O  Eros ! 

ALL 
Eros! 

THEANO 

My  son  has  taken  into  his  tent  a  wife;  to  thee 
and  to  thy  care  commit  I  my  children  and  all  their 
offspring.  What  more  can  a  mother  desire  for 
her  children  than  their  welfare! 

EURYTUS 
[softly] 

What  is  that,  mother?  I  hear  the  twanging 
of  citterns  and  the  tread  of  dancing  feet. 

[8] 


THEANO 

Always  thou  hearest  so  much  that  we  others 
do  never  perceive. 

FlLEAS 

Even  when  Eurytus  was  so  little  that  I  bare 
him  in  my  arms,  he  heard  citterns  and  dance- 
steps. 

THEANO 

Then  oughtest  thou,  as  a  faithful  servant,  to 
have  admonished  him  against  such  delusions. 

EURYTUS 
Mother ! 

THEANO 
[more  loudly] 

Eros!  Much  can  my  children  and  their  off- 
spring go  without — never  without  thee. 

EURYTUS 
Mother ! 

THEANO 

Against  other  gods  may  they  revolt — never 
against  thee.  Stay  thou  but  near  them,  and  their 
lowly  tent  shall  be  to  them  more  goodly  than  all 
of  earth's  splendours. 

[9] 


[Eurytus  tries  to 
rise  but  his  mother 
presses  him  down.] 

THEANO 

So  now  do  we,  we  three  and  our  servant,  greet 
thee,  thou  God  of  Love,  thou  of  heaven  and  of 
earth;  daily  sacrifice  shall  burn  to  thee,  always, 
in  our  hearts. 

[Eurytus  releases 
himself  from  his 
mother's  hand  and 
springs  up.] 

EURYTUS 

Mother!  Dost  thou  not  hear  the  dancing  on 
the  hill? 

THEANO 

The  herders  dance  every  afternoon  now,  dur- 
ing the  honey-moon  festivities. 

EURYTUS 
But  they  play  the  pipes  when  they  dance. 

[He  clutches  his 
mother  by  the  arm 
and  drags  her  -with 
him.] 

[10] 


Am  I  so  daft  with  all  this  wedding- wine — or 
come  not  the  dancers  nearer  and  nearer?  Dost 
thou  not  hear  their  tramp? 

THEANO 
I  hear  naught  save  our  own  voices. 

EURYTUS 
Uneasiness  has  fallen  on  my  heart. 

THEANO 

Bliss  itself  can  be  so  great,  overpowering, 
that  it  behooves  one  to  fear  and  to  tremble. 

[From  the  far- 
thest distance  are 
heard  citterns  and 
rhythmic  dancing.] 

ERIGONE 
[rising] 

He  mistrusts  Love's  divinity  .  .  .  For  me, 
all  has  changed,  since  it  has  come  to  me.  .  .  . 
I  used  to  watch  the  herds,  and  the  one  day  was 
like  another. 

[She  empties  the 
basket  and  wreathes 
the  altar  with  the 
flowers.  ] 

[ii] 


[softly] 
Eurytus ! 

[Eurytus  lifts  her 
in  his  arms  and  holds 
her,  high  up,  against 
the  rising  column  of 
smoke.} 

EURYTUS 

Mistrust  .  .  .  I !  Life's  gracious  benefactor, 
thou :  thanks  and  praise  unto  thee  I  give.  May 
mine  eye  lose  its  sight ;  may  I,  like  a  starved  wolf, 
fall  down  upon  that  day  when  I  shall  deny  thy 
greatness ! 

[Passionately  kis- 
sing Erigone,  he  low- 
ers her  again  to  the 
ground.  ] 

All  that  I  desire  in  this  world,  has  come 
with  thee,  Erigone.  Easily  and  smilingly,  I  see 
the  years  pass  on. 

THEANO 

Let  us  gather  more  flowers  before  it  grows 
dark. 

[12] 


FlLEAS 

[rising] 

I  know  where  to  find  some  .    .    .  over  there, 
upon  that  knoll. 

ERIGONE 

If  only  thou  wert  not  so  homely  and  old,  dear 
Fileas. 

FILEAS 

Homely  and  old,  and  a  good-natured  fool ;  yet 
limber  in  back,  despite  my  full-sixty  years. 

[He  bends  and  kis- 
ses the  hem  of  her 
tunic.  ] 

Praises  be  to  Eros! 

[The  citterns  and 
dancing  now  sound 
much  nearer.] 

ERIGONE 
Come,  Eurytus! 

EURYTUS 
Mine  offering  have  I  right  here. 

[He    draws,    from 
under   his  mantle,   a 
[13] 


twig  with  dried  and 
brittle  leaves.] 

THEANO 
Still  hiding  that  twig? 

FILEAS 

It  was  I  tucked  that  in  thy  hands,  whilst  thou 
wast  lying  asleep,  one  morning,  when  thou 
wast  only  a  baby  .  .  .  and  nobody  guessed 
whence  it  came! 

THEANO 

Therefore,  we  thought,  perchance,  that  the 
twig  was  the  gift  of  good-luck  .  .  .  thy  safeguard 
against  the  evil-eye. 

EURYTUS 
No  longer  need  I  such  protection! 

[He  fastens  the 
twig  between  the 
stones  of  the  altar.] 

THEANO 
[to  Erigone] 

Let  not  night  come  before  we  shall  have 
changed  these  bare  stones  into  a  mound  of 
flowers.  Eurytus!  Pass  me  thy  knife,  that  I 
may  snip  off  the  flower-stalks. 


ERIGONE 
Come  with  us ! 

EURYTUS 

Thou,  most  beautiful  amongst  the  flowers!  Is 
it  not  enough  that  I  have  gathered  thee ! 

[He  hands  over  his 
knife  to  Theano. 

Theano  gazes  at  the 
knife,  then  raises  it.] 

THEANO 

The  knife  says:  The  most  beautiful  amongst 
the  flowers  will  I  cut  down,  upon  the  day  thou 
forsakest  thy  god. 

ERIGONE 

Who  is  that  man  who  is  coming,  there,  over  the 
meadow  ?  He  has  wrapped  his  mantle  about  him, 
as  though  he  were  freezing,  at  mid-day,  this  warm 
autumn-month. 

FILEAS 

Wedding-gifts!  Wedding-gifts!  They  will 
fill  the  tent ! 

[He  beckons  eager- 
ly and  goes  away,  fol- 
lowed by  the  women.] 

*        *        * 
[15] 


[The  citterns  now 
sound  much  nearer 
and  the  rhythmic 
measure  of  the  dance 
quickens  to  a  jubilant 
chorus. 

Twilight  falls.] 

*  *  * 
[Eurytus  looks 
longingly  after  the 
others  as  they  go 
away;  lies  down; 
puts  his  ear  to  the 
ground  and  listens; 
beats  time  with  his 
hands. 

After  a  while,  he 
gets  up.] 


EURYTUS 

So  dance  no  herders  .  .  .  Let  but  a  dead  man 
hear  that  dance  and  he  will  lose  his  soul's  peace. 

[He  follows  the 
dance-step  and  hums 
the  tune.] 

*        *        * 
[16] 


[Apollo  strides  for- 
ward. He  is  clad  in 
a  goatskin  mantle; 
his  arm  is  wreathed 
with  laurel;  his  bow 
and  arrows  are  *lung 
across  his  shoulders.] 

APOLLO 
Hapless  man ! 

EURYTUS 

A  strange  salutation,  that,  to  a  man  who,  just 
now,  in  good-luck  overflowing,  has  been  kneeling 
in  front  of  Love's  altar. 

APOLLO 

Thy  tongue  sayeth  one  thing,  thy  heart  another. 
A  man  in  love  doth  lie. 

EURYTUS 
Hast  lost  thy  way,  O  herdsman? 

APOLLO 

There  is  no  path,  I  know  not.  Oft  before, 
just  as  I  have  done  this  day,  I  have  watched  the 
sheep  upon  the  hillside,  where  the  muses  dance. 

[17] 


EURYTUS 

[in  greatest  excitement] 
The  muses  dance  .  .  .    Thou  jokest,  not  badly. 

[He  laughs.] 

Surely,  thou  art  both  hungry  and  tired.  Wilt 
not  sit  down  and  await  the  women?  A  wooden 
cup  I  own  .  .  .  wine  thou  doubtless  hast  thyself. 
Yesterday,  another  herder  came  with  wedding- 
gifts;  he  had  disguised  himself  as  a  buck,  and 
so  came  near  to  meeting  death  at  the  hands  of 
old  Fileas. 

[He  laughs.] 

The  muses  dance  .  .  .  My  mother  said,  it  was 
the  herders  at  their  play. 

APOLLO 

Thy  mother  heard  nothing.  Thou  alone  wast 
called. 

[  Eurytus  pretends 
to  feel  around  in  the 
air  with  his  hands, 
as  though  to  find  a 
support.] 

EURYTUS 

Wilt  not  show  me  thy  gift  .  .  .  before  the 
women  come? 

[He  laughs.] 
[18] 


APOLLO 

I  have  come  to  demand  accounting  for  a  gift 
that  thou  hast  had  already.  Bow  thy  head ! 

[Eurytus,  as  though 
struck  by  lightning, 
bows  low.} 

EURYTUS 
Thou  art  Phoebus  Apollo! 

APOLLO 

Thou  knewest  who  I  was,  when  thou  sawest 
me  cross  the  meadow;  and  thou  knewest  that  I 
would  come,  as  soon  as  thou  heardest  the  muses 
.  .  .  because  thou  art  a  seer. 

Once  upon  a  time,  whilst  I  was  herding  the 
sheep,  and  passed  this  way,  I  saw  a  child  who 
lay  in  a  tent-opening  and  slept.  Its  elders  were 
out  in  the  fields.  Then  broke  I  off  a  laurel-twig 
from  my  wreath  and  laid  it  between  the  little  one's 
fingers. 

EURYTUS 

How  had  that  child  aroused  thy  wrath  that 
thou  shouldst  present  it  with  so  unlucky  a  gift ! 

APOLLO 

The  gift  was  a  symbol  that  I  chose  him,  from 
his  very  childhood,  to  be  my  priest  and  bestowed 

[19] 


upon  him  the  power  to  read  the  oracles.  Upon 
him,  from  that  time,  the  gods  have  kept  their 
eyes  fixed. 

EURYTUS 

And  kept  him  awake  at  night. 

APOLLO 

After  many  years  of  wandering,  I  come  upon 
the  self-same  path.  There  I  find  an  altar  raised — 
not  in  my  honour  nor  in  that  of  the  goddess — 
but  to  that  small  boy  amongst  the  gods  ...  to 
him  who  plays  with  his  fillet  .  .  .  that  half-grown 
boy  who  will  never  become  a  man.  That  was 
the  seer's  thanks. 

EURYTUS 

Name  to  me  one  of  all  thy  priests  who  has 
not,  sometime  in  his  life,  committed  the  same 
offense. 

APOLLO 

And  did  not  each  one,  because  of  it,  live  to  see 
the  day  of  retribution? 

EURYTUS 
My  beloved  Erigone! 

APOLLO 

That  least  and  most  dissolute  amongst  the 
gods,  thou  settest  up  over  the  mighty  and  right- 

[20] 


cous.  In  the  one  hand,  thou  holdest  the  hand  of 
a  woman ;  in  the  other,  lieth  the  world,  as  a  ball — 
and  thou  throwest  the  world.  I  gave  unto  thee 
immortality — and  thou  liest  upon  the  grass  that 
thou  mayest  gaze  upon  an  opening  blossom. 

EURYTUS 

Let  me  stay  in  the  humble  station  in  which  I 
was  born.  Let  me  be  a  faithful  husband  and  a 
good  father,  and  may  mine  eyes  be  closed,  some 
day,  by  two  grateful  hands. 

[He  goes  to  the 
tent,  and  draws  aside 
the  overhanging  flap.} 

Our  abiding-place,  where  we  should  live  for 
one  another,  wherein  no  sorrow  should  dwell! 
Methinks,  in  truth,  there  is  little  need  of  all  these 
wedding-gifts. 

[He  lifts  and  looks 
at  several  of  the  gifts 
and  shows  them  to 
Apollo.} 

How  quickly  has  day  changed  into  night! 
Here  is  the  staff  I  use  when  tending  the  herds. 
Upon  the  crook,  Fileas,  faithful  old  man, 
has  carved  the  most  graceful  designs  of  plants 

[21] 


and  of  animals  .  .  .  Let  me  stay  with  my  be- 
loved Erigone,  far  from  earth's  turmoils  and 
honours! — Here  is  our  simple  hollywood  cup, 
oft  filled  with  water,  seldom  with  wine,  always 
drained  in  gladness.  Only  the  one  cup  we  own 
.  .  .  that  is  enough  for  us.  Here  is  the  sheep- 
skin, our  bed  .  .  . 

[From  far  away, 
a  murmuring  blends 
with  the  sounds  of 
citterns  and  dancing.  ]  . 

VOICES 
The  Barbarians!    The  Barbarians! 

EURYTUS 
What's  the  matter? 

APOLLO 

Thy  mother  would  say :  The  herders  are  play- 
ing in  the  honey-moon  festival. 

[Eurytus  shuts  his 
eyes  and  covers  them 
with  his  hands.] 

EURYTUS 
I  see  the  ocean.    It  is  no  longer  blue. 

[22] 


APOLLO 
Hath  the  water  lost  its  heavenly  colour? 

EURYTUS 

[stepping  forward] 

Myriads  of  brownish  sails  hide  the  water,  as 
far  as  eye  can  see ;  in  the  corner  of  every  sail  is 
a  black  square. 

[Shouts  and  cries 
are  heard  far  away.] 

APOLLO 

Thou  seest  ships,  not  yet  built,  in  sooth,  but 
that  soon  will  anchor  off  the  coasts  of  Hellas. 
Tidings  have  just  reached  the  people  that  the 
Persians  are  arming.  The  populace  cry  for  a 
seer  and  a  hero. 

EURYTUS 

I  see  a  great  battle  .  .  .  Many  thousands  of 
ships  .  .  .  Now,  I  no  longer  see  them  .  .  .  My 
beloved  Erigone !  Is  it  thou  who  cometh  walking 
on  the  water,  with  thy  basket? 

[He  awakes  from 
his  trance  and  seems 
bewildered.  ] 

[23] 


APOLLO 

I  force  no  one.  Choose,  in  thy  youth,  a  god 
after  thine  own  desire.  Choose  Love,  and  re- 
main in  thy  quiet  tent;  or,  choose  thy  god  from 
amongst  the  mighty  and  awesome;  but  choose 
only  one.  Serve  him  wholly,  glorify  him  in  all 
ways,  and  hold  fast  to  him  thou  glorifiest. 

[He  wraps  himself 
in  his  goatskin  and 
goes  away.] 

*  *        * 

[  The  sounds  of 
citterns  and  dancing 
die  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. .Silence  falls.] 

*  *        * 
[Eurytus  follows  a 

few  steps,  then  stands 
still] 

EURYTUS 

Phoebus  Apollo,  hast  thou  left  me?  .  .  . 
Citterns  tinkle,  muses  dance !  The  ground  shakes 
with  their  footsteps.  Trees  and  plants  and  rocks 
sing. 

[He  kicks  aside  the 
wooden  cup  and  the 
other  gifts.] 

[24] 


Dead  things  for  meat  and  drink!  Give  me 
living  tones,  give  me  strings  on  which  to  play! 

[He    listens,    with 
his  ear  to  the  ground.] 

Farther  and  still  farther  away.  His  whirling 
court  follows  him.  Now,  I  no  longer  hear  the 
citterns,  only  the  tapping  of  sandalled  feet  .  .  . 
Now,  silence.  It  is  as  though  I  had  been  breath- 
ing in  a  purer,  lighter  day  than  ever  before  in  my 
life — then  should  be  buried  beneath  a  shower 
of  heavy  earth.  Father  of  Light!  Why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me? 


ERIGONE 
[outside] 
Eurytus ! 

[Eurytus  turns  and 
opens  his  arms.] 

EURYTUS 
[softly] 
Erigone,  my  beloved  Erigone ! 

[He  picks  up  the 
sheepskin  and  buries 
his  head  in  it.] 

[25] 


Good-night,  Erigone! 

[  Overcome  with  his 
ecstasy,  he  hurries 
away.  ] 

Avenging  God!    I  come  to  serve  thee,  and  to 
pay  the  penalty  of  my  sin ! 


ERIGONE 
[outside] 
Eurytus ! 

[Erigone  and  The- 
ano  enter  the  tent. 
Erigone  lifts  the  bas- 
ket from  her  head.] 

Why  does  he  not  answer  me? 

THEANO 

[with  the  knife  still  in  her  hand] 
He  is  no  longer  here.    He  has  gone  to  the  hill 
to  play  with  the  herders. 

ERIGONE 

The  tent  is  up-turned  .    .    .       The  gifts  are 
thrown  all  around. 

[26] 


THEANO 
My  child! 

ERIGONE 

Mother!     Look,  mother!     The  wreaths  have 
been  torn  from  the  altar  .   .   . 

THEANO 

Alas!     May  this  presentiment  that  falls  upon 
me  be  but  a  delusion ! 

ERIGONE 

What  has  happened?      Eurytus!      Dost  thou 
not  hear  me  any  longer? 

THEANO 

[drawing  Erigone  to  herself] 
For  a  woman,  her  love  spurned,  there  is  but 
one  thing! 

*        *        * 

[Night  draws  near. 

The  Erinyes  and 
their  followers  glide 
forth,  all  alike,  clothed 
in  black,  with  fury- 
bulging  eyes. 

They  stand  so  close 
to  one  another,  in  a 

[27] 


Eurytus ! 


long  row,  that,  when 
they  lift  their  wings, 
along  which  their 
mantles  have  grown 
fast,  they  shadow 
everything  behind 
them. 

Motionless,  .  their 
eyes  partly  averted, 
they  linger  in  that 
position.  ] 


[Far  off,  in  the 
shadows,  Erigone  ap- 
pears—bemoaning and 
distraught.] 


[A     long     silence. 
A  single  drum-beat.] 


ERINYE 

[the  one  farthest  to  the  right] 
A  withered  leaf  fell  from  Time's  Tree. 
[28] 


A  Year  of  Darkness. 

[A   long  silence.] 

EEIGONE 

[still  farther  away] 
Eurytus ! 

[A     long     silence. 
A  single  drum-beat.] 

ERINYE 
[on  the  right] 
Again,  a  leaf  fell  from  Time's  Tree. 

ERINYE 
[on  the  left] 
Again  a  Year  of  Darkness. 

[A   long  silence.] 

ERINYE 
[on  the  right] 
She  calleth  no  longer. 

*         *         * 

[  The  Erinyes  lower 
their  wings. 

[29] 


One  after  the  other, 
they  slowly  continue 
their  wanderings. 

As  they  disappear, 
the  darkness  of  night 
lightens  back  to 
twilight.  ] 

*  *         * 

[  Where  the  tent 
stood  formerly,  there 
now  is  seen  a  grass- 
grown  mound. 

The  altar  is  upbuilt 
to  the  height  of  a 
man.  At  the  front,  a 
flight  of  steps  reaches 
to  the  top.] 

*  *        * 
[Fileas  comes  with 

the  last  stone  and  fits 
it  into  the  corner,  at 
the  top  of  the  altar.] 


FILEAS 

The  years  pass — years  of  darkness  .  .  .   Eros ! 
Thine    altar    I    have   finished — I,    humble    man 

[30] 


though  I  be,  yet  good  enough  to  serve  thee  .  .  . 
Never  can  I  forget  her,  even  though  I  be  but  a 
fool  and  a  poor  old  wretch  who  scarcely  durst 
crawl  forward  on  my  knees  to  kiss  the  hem  of  her 
garment!  Eros!  Blessed  be  thou,  for  the 
fragrant  autumn  thou  hast  sown  in  my  heart ! 

*         *         * 

[Herdsmen  enter — 
stealthily,  crouchingly. 

They  are  armed 
with  boor -shields, 
poles  and  spears. 

They  swarm  around 
the  altar  and  super- 
stitiously  press  their 
fore-  and  middle- 
fingers,  first  against 
the  stones,  and  then 
against  their  breasts.] 


A  GREY-BEARDED  HERDER 
Can  he  protect  us  from  Xerxes — thy  Eros? 

FILEAS 

He  can  help  you  so  that,  even  with  spears  run 
through  your  bodies,  still  you  can  rejoice  that  you 
have  lived. 

[31] 


GREY-BEARD 

The  alarum  from  Salamis  has  reached  even 
here.  The  townsfolk  have  gathered  their  gold 
into  bags  and  have  gone  board  the  ships  with 
their  wives  and  their  children.  Us,  they  have 
left  in  the  lurch. 

A  PALE-FACED  HERDER 

It  was  Eurytus  the  Soothsayer  who  frightened 
them  to  leaving  the  town — when  the  serpents  at 
the  temple  of  Pallas  refused  to  eat. 

GREY-BEARD 
Us  herders,  he  forgot  and  betrayed. 

FILEAS 
Therefore,  they  have  crowned  him. 

PALE-FACE 
His  name  flies  as  an  eagle  over  Hellas. 

GREY-BEARD 
Yet  not  so  high  but  that  a  stone  can  reach  him. 

PALE-FACE 

All  day,  he  has  stood  on  a  rock  by  the  ocean. 
In  a  trance,  he  has  told  what  future  shall  come. 

FILEAS 
What  advice  has  he  given? 

[32] 


PALE-FACE 

To  flee — over  the  ocean — to  flee  to  a  distant 
isle  and  to  found  there  a  new  realm. 

FILEAS 

With  new  temples;  wherefore  not  new  gods 
as  well? 

PALE-FACE 

Comes  that  battle — so  runs  his  oracle — shall 
not  one  Hellene  survive  the  night. 

GREY-BEARD 

Even  now,  the  battle  is  raging  before  Salamis — 
even  since  the  break  of  day.  Come  here,  thou 
canst  see  the  masts  of  the  ships.  Soon  will  the 
Barbarians  overrun  us.  My  wife  and  her  children 
I  have  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree. 

FILEAS 
I  have  no  faith  in  any  oracle  of  Eurytus. 

PALE-FACE 
Thou  art  a  fool,  old  man  Fileas. 

FILEAS 

That,  I  have  been  called  always.  Blessed  be 
thou,  O  Eros,  for  all  that  thou  hast  given  me  in 
my  life  of  foolishness. 

[33] 


GREY-BEARD 
There  comes  a  man,  running  across  the  field. 

FILEAS 

[without  turning] 
Mayhap,  a  messenger  of  victory. 

GREY-BEARD 

He  seems  more  like  a  king;  still  more  like  the 
ghost  of  a  king.  His  mantle  flutters  and  he  has 
a  bloody  wound  at  the  temple. 

PALE-FACE 

He  is  followed  by  a  crowd  of  men,  who  are 
throwing  stones;  they  are  bent  over,  as  though 
tired;  they  have  fallen  behind. 

[suddenly] 
It  is  Eurytus  the  Soothsayer! 

THE  OTHER  HERDERS 
Eurytus  ? 

FILEAS 

[without  turning] 

They  have  been  victorious.  He  has  prophesied 
falsely. 

[Eurytus,  crowned 
with  laurel  and  fillet, 
but  bleeding  from  a 
wound  in  his  temple, 
runs  up.] 

[343 


EURYTUS 

Help  me,  ye  good  men,  friends!  They  will 
take  my  life ! 

GREY-BEARD 

Should  any  take  thy  life,  should  we  ... 
Welcome  to  thy  native-place,  thou  celebrated 
priest — crowned  at  Delphi,  at  Athens,  at  Olympia 
— stoned  before  Salamis. 

EURYTUS 

Always,  in  repentance,  one  returns  in  the  after- 
glow to  those  deserted  whilst  the  sun  was  high. 

FILEAS 

A  false  soothsayer  returns  when  he  needs  a 
hiding-place. 

[He  turns  and  stays 
Eurytus,  approaching 
the  altar.] 

This  is  hallowed  ground,  on  which  such  as 
thou  mayst  not  put  foot. 

EURYTUS 

Dear  old  Fileas!  Dost  thou  no  longer 
remember  me?  At  least,  let  me  give  thee  an  alms, 
as  thanks,  for  old  time's  sake. 

[35] 


[He  puts  his  hand 
into  the  pouch  hang- 
ing from  his  girdle. 

He  brings  up  sev- 
eral pieces  of  money. 

He  lays  back  a  pair 
of  Three. 

He  offers  the  others 
to  Fileas,  who  throws 
them  away. 

The  money  falls  to 
the  ground. 

Eagerly,  the  herds- 
men gather  up  the 
pieces.] 

Thou  forgettest  thyself. 

FILEAS 

Thou  didst  lay  the  first  stones.  The  dear  leaves 
cried  thine  enchanted  tongue,  but  thou  didst 
deceive.  It  was  the  poor  old  man  who,  in  his 
solitude,  day  after  day,  has  laid  stone  on  stone. 
This  he  has  done  because  his  heart  has  never 
stopped  longing  for  something  not  vouchsafed 
him  to  reach.  All  honours  thine;  here,  thou  art 
but  a  stranger  and  nothing  more.  Execration, 
thou  dost  not  require;  that,  thou  bearest  deep 
within  thine  own  self. 

[36] 


GREY-BEARD 

Like  the  faithful  servant  that  he  is,  Fileas  has 
finished  his  work,  as  a  memorial. 

EURYTUS 
Of  me?     Speak,  Fileas! 

FILEAS 

Soon  will  the  perjurer  Eurytus  think  there 
exists  naught  in  the  world  save  himself.  Has 
anyone  here  willed  him  aught  save  his  fame, 
it  will  be  to  a  friend  gone  astray — an  enemy :  one 
to  praise,  in  the  open  speech;  to  revile,  in 
whispers.  Two  gods  has  he  served  and  both  has 
he  deceived. 

EURYTUS 

But  never  her  whom  he  hath  held  apart,  in  his 
thoughts,  always.  Lift  ye  your  staves  and  strike 
— if  anyone  here  begrudge  me  peace  again. 

[Quickly,  he  turns 
and  speaks  to  File  as.] 

Where  are  the  two  women? 
[No  answer.] 

A  hiding-place!  Yea.  I  seek  a  hiding-place, 
where  no  one  listeth  to  a  seer  and  where  the 
laurel-bushes  have  been  cut  down,  to  burn  beneath 

[37] 


the  pot  ...  a  shady  spot  beneath  the  oaks,  where 
invisible  lyres  sough  through  the  foliage,  and 
where  Erigone  standeth,  gazing  wonderingly, 
over  the  field  toward  that  world  she  knoweth  not. 

FILEAS 

And  for  her  wouldst  thou  confess  that  thou 
art  as  one  shipwrecked,  in  thy  greatness? 

EURYTUS 
Yea. 

FILEAS 
A  false  soothsayer? 

EURYTUS 
Yea. 

[He  draws  his  arm 
across  his  bloody 
forehead,  to  dry  it.] 

Give  me  a  drink. 

[File  as  takes  the 
wooden  cup  out  from 
his  pouch.] 

FILEAS 
Dost  thou  recognize  this  cup? 

[Eurytus  attempts 
to  take  it.] 

[38] 


EURYTUS 

Let  me,  just  once  more  in  my  life,  lift  that  up. 

FILEAS 

That  passes  not  to  lips  profaned  by  oracle- 
words.    It  is  mine,  now. 

[He  returns  it   to 
his  pouch.] 

EURYTUS 
Wherefore  cometh  not  Erigone? 

[No  answer.] 
She  knoweth  not  that  I  am  here. 

FILEAS 
I  believe  that,  surely. 

EURYTUS 

I  could  go  for  days  and  for  months,  and  not 
weary,  until  I  should  reach  the  place  where  she  is. 

FILEAS 
Prepare  for  a  long  journey. 

EURYTUS 

Whenever  I  would  soothsay,  I  had  the  same 
vision,  always.    I  seemed  to  be  looking  down  into 

[39] 


that  ice-clear,  ice-dashing  pool,  wherein  were  re- 
flected the  pointed  leaves  of  the  laurel-bush,  like 
letters  graven  in  stone.  Whilst  I  would  be  read- 
ing the  riddles,  suddenly,  Erigone  would  peer 
forth.  Bending  forward  beneath  the  branches, 
she  would  speak  to  me  quite  other  words  .  .  . 
words  of  the  lesser  gods  and  of  Love.  Always, 
I  heard,  in  this  way,  two  voices  that  gainsaid 
one  another.  I  spoke  with  double-tongue,  so 
never  was  I  in  the  wrong. 

FILEAS 
And  now,  before  Salamis? 

EURYTUS 

I  stood  upon  a  rock — in  a  trance,  that  I  might 
the  future  foretell.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  I 
heard  but  the  one  voice,  and  that  was  not  the 
voice  of  the  God  of  Light.  Erigone  came,  walk- 
ing upon  the  water,  and  she  cried  unto  me : 

"Declare  thou  victory,  and  victory  come,  never 
again  may  I  receive  thee  in  my  lowly  herder's 
tent.  Soon  will  other  women,  then,  twist  for 
thee  thy  wreaths.  But  speakest  thou,  instead, 
for  flight,  then  shalt  thou,  till  the  end  of  time,  no 
longer  be  able  to  withstand  thy  memories  of  me, 
but  will  fetch  me  and  take  me  with  thee.  Let 
us  flee,  flee!" 

[40] 


Before  I  had  time  to  consider,  I  lifted  my 
arms,  and  loud — so  my  voice  was  heard  over  all 
the  shore,  over  all  the  gathered  ships — I  uttered 
that  basely- false  interpretation: 

"Let  us  flee,  flee!" 

FlLEAS 

When  thou  wentest  away  from  thy  mother  and 
thy  young  wife,  it  was,  nevertheless,  by  thine 
own  free  choice. 

EURYTUS 

A  seer  loseth  his  power  of  insight,  when  with  a 
loving  woman  .  .  .  insight  for  that  which  is  and 
for  that  which  is  to  come ;  he  seeth  only  the  day 
that  shineth  upon  him.  He  should  walk  along 
solitary  paths ;  Love  becometh  for  him  forbidden 
fruit. 

FILEAS 
Therefore  ten  times  as  enticing. 

EURYTUS 

He  who  once  hath  possessed  good-luck  can 
never  forget  that  time.  There,  thou  hast  the 
gloomy  tale  of  a  false  seer. 

FILEAS 

For  many  a  year,  I  have  seen  the  black  troop  of 
Erinyes  watch  over  the  land,  where,  of  yore,  the 


twittering  of  birds  awoke  me  to  the  day's  task. 
The  shivering  that  now  shakes  us  portends 
that  they  stand  around  us  still.  A  cold  wind  is 
blowing  but  the  grass  lies  still  and  the  leaf  stirs 
not. 

[The  herders  draw 
their  mantles  closely 
around  them.] 

EURYTUS 
My  beloved  Erigone! 

FILEAS 
She  called  thee  a  long  time. 

EURYTUS 

O  hill  that  hath  separated  us !  I  would  call  her 
name,  until  even  this  hill  should  answer!  Stone 
me,  and  I  will  drag  myself  forward,  that  she 
may  wipe  the  blood  from  my  forehead. 

Give  me  a  drink! 

[No  answer.] 

Why  keep  ye  all  silence  ?  Deny  me,  an  ye  will, 
a  cup  of  water,  but  put  an  end  to  my  yearning. 
Hath  my  torment  not  paid,  in  full,  the  debt  of  a 
wandering  man?  .  .  .  Nothing  deserve  I  from 
you,  nothing,  but  this  alone:  tell  me,  where 

[42] 


leadeth  the  shortest,  the  nearest,  the  quickest  path 
to  that  tent  wherein  which  Erigone  now  abideth. 

FILEAS 

Wilt  thou  give  up  all  for  the  sake  of  finding 
her? 

EURYTUS 

All  that  thou  demandest  .  .  .  And  yet  I 
tremble  at  the  thought  of  seeing  her  again.  She 
was  young,  when  I  went,  and  I  remember  her 
as  young.  She  hath  sorrowed  and  become  old. 

FILEAS 

Fear  not,  Eurytus.  A  woman  knows  how  to 
restore  that  she  has  lost.  Erigone  will  not  haste 
to  meet  thee  in  the  light  of  day.  She  will  hide 
herself  under  a  covering. 

EURYTUS 
But,  now  darkness  beginneth  to  fall  .   .   . 

FILEAS 

When  it  shall  grow  dark  around  you  both,  and 
the  cold  stars  shall  flicker  over  the  grassy  mound, 
then  shall  you  both,  between  yourselves,  take 
balance  of  your  life-account,  as  guilt  or  debt. 
Sun's  Priest!  Thy  way  went  upward,  not  over 
striking  enemies,  but  over  the  graves  of  women. 

[43] 


[He  points  to  the 
grass-covered  mound. 

Eurytus,  stunned, 
stares  down  at  it.  ] 

For  a  long  time,  we  saw  about  the  town  two 
women,  one  young  and  one  old,  who,  deserted, 
hunted  from  place  to  place — begging  outside  the 
tents.  The  wandering  became  too  much  for 
them.  They  put  out  their  lives. 

[Eurytus  totters 
forward  and  throws 
himself  down  on  the 
grass-grown  mound. 

He  calls  down  into 
the  ground.] 

EURYTUS 
Erigone ! 

[All  the  herdsmen 
stone  him. 

Eurytus,  half-sit- 
ting, lifts  off  his 
wreath  and  shakes 
out  his  long  hair,  that 
has  become  grey.] 

Under  my  wreath  and  my  fillet,  I  have  hidden 
from  the  world  this  greying  hair.  Avengers! 
Doth  it  not  content  ye  that  I  suffer ! 

[44] 


[  They    stone    him. 

Citterns  and  rhyth- 
mic dancing  are  heard 
in  the  distance. 

Eurytus  talks  down 
into  the  ground.] 

Thou  canst  no  longer  answer  me. — There,  she 
stood  by  the  spring  .  .  .  Who  was  she  ?  I  had 
never  seen  her  before.  So  then  I  should  have 
said: 

"Let  me  pass  my  hand  over  thy  hair.  My 
pretty  child,  thou  shalt  not  follow  me  into  my 
tent  ...  I  cannot  make  any  woman  happy. 
That  master  I  serve  is  cold  as  marble  and  hard  as 
steel ;  and  he  hath  no  wife.  Hold  thou  me  ever 
so  fast,  I  must  tear  myself  loose  and  wash  my- 
self clean  from  earthly  love." 

[He  comes  out  of 
his  trance.] 

Even  upon  her  grave,  I  hear  citterns  and  dance- 
steps. 

FILEAS 
May  he,  purified  by  repentance,  find  peace. 

[He  pulls  out  the 
cup  frm  his  pouch 
and  goes  away.] 

[45] 


EURYTUS 

A  false  priest  to  Apollo — who  played  with 
holy  things  and  who  played  with  earthly — wholly 
with  neither.  A  Sun-God's  Herald,  who  longed 
to  lie  in  the  shade,  with  his  head  upon  a  woman's 
lap,  watching  the  clouds  come  and  go. 

[Fileas  conies  back, 
holding  carefully  be- 
fore him  the  cup, 
filled  with  water.  He 
stretches  it  out  to 
Eurytus.] 

FILEAS 

I  little  thought  that  misfortune  would  have 
bowed  thee  so  low.  Eurytus!  Forgive  me!  I 
hate  thee  no  longer. 

EURYTUS 

Dost  thou  need  to  tell  me  that?  Whosoever 
hateth  can  no  longer  avenge! 

[He  clutches  the 
cup  in  his  hands.] 

Simple  cup!  How  well  I  remember  thee! — 
Oft  filled  with  water,  seldom  with  wine,  always 
drained  in  gladness. 

[He  tries  to  drink 
but  spills  some  of  the 
water.  ] 

[46] 


I  cannot. 

[Fileas  helps  him 
steady  the  cup.] 

FILEAS 

Drink  of  the  water  from  thine  own  spring. 
That  will  give  thee  a  good  sleep. 

[The  citterns  and 
dancing-steps  sound 
nearer.] 

EURYTUS 

Always  before,  I  thought  that  it  tasted  so  de- 
licious .  .  .  Fileas!  Hearest  thou  not  some- 
thing .  .  .  like  the  twanging  of  a  cittern  and  a 
tramp  of  feet? 

FILEAS 
It  is  but  the  beating  of  thine  own  heart. 

EURYTUS 

Mine  heart  ...  Talk  with  wolves  of  doves' 
eyes,  with  the  dead  of  our  heaven.  Father  of 
Light !  Let  me  fall  by  thine  arrow  to  sleep  with 
her  I  forsook.  Thy  humming  terrifies  me.  My 
feet  bear  my  weight  no  more — and  I  cannot  weep. 

[Fileas  drags  with 
him  the  other  herds- 
men and  they  all  go 
quickly  away.} 

[47] 


FlLEAS 

This  is  no  longer  a  place  of  peace.  Agony 
abides  here. 

EURYTUS 

Could  I  but  awake  thee  from  thy  sleep, 
Erigone  .  .  .awake  thee  for  a  single  short  hour 
and  hear  thy  voice  ...  To  mother  I  would  say : 
"Wherefore  dost  thou  listen  so  anxiously  ?  That 
is  only  the  herders  playing  and  dancing." 

*        *        * 

[Apollo  strides  in, 
clad  in  his  goatskin 
mantle,  with  his  bow 
and  arrows  slung  over 
his  shoulders. 

He  shoots  down  at 
Eurytus. 

In  the  same  mo- 
ment, the  sounds  of 
the  citterns  and  the 
dancing  stop.] 


APOLLO 

Son  of  dust!     Thou  didst  try  to  serve  two 
gods;  therefore,  thy  power  became  thy  doom. 

[48] 


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